Tag Archives: giveaway

Giveaway Round Two: This Time, It’s My Homebrew

I enjoyed the last homebrew and homecooking giveaway so much that I not only raved about it the next day (and forgot to take pictures!), I immediately decided that, someday, I’d do it again.

Well, folks. Someday is upon us. Because, finally, I have an idea I want to share.

I’m currently brewing an amber ale with coffee in it, mostly because my friend Nancy and I wanted to do a coffee beer at about the same time. The more I thought about it, the more I realized, I also want to host a ton of brunches this summer. And a beer that we’re aiming to make akin to iced coffee? That should be fairly caffeinated? Clearly, this is FATE!

Thus, I’ve asked Nancy to hold her calendar for us.… Continue reading →

A Horrifying Homebrew – Part II & Giveaway

This is a continuation of the last post, A Horrifying Homebrew – Part I, which left off with me asking “What in the world happened?” to cause my vile-tasting beer.

I was really at a loss, I have to admit, after Rob and my off-flavors class seemed to agree that my issue wasn’t infection. Indeed, at the class, “infection” was presented as a single flavor. Since I don’t know a ton about brewing, and my microbiology classes are far behind me, I wondered if it meant that only a few bacteria could live in beer, and they all produce a similar flavor profile.

Twitter to the rescue. I tell you guys what, Twitter has been a huge help to me as I learn more and more about beer1.… Continue reading →

Food and Beer Pairing Challenges and Wins

I was somewhat impulsive when I put up my Homebrew and Home-Cooking Giveaway a couple of months ago. Not that I did it completely without thought; I certainly considered if I wanted to open our home up to total strangers and I asked Bill about the same. I considered what sorts of preparation it might take for us, in terms of around the house cleaning and furniture or feeding that many people. I even considered, and appreciated, that it would stretch my food and beer pairing skills, even if I failed at creating a delicious pairing.

I didn’t consider, however, how much it might stretch those pairing skills. You see, I didn’t truly consider the possibility of certain dietary restrictions.

Oh, I gave some thought to the possibility that someone might have a nut allergy or even be gluten-free.… Continue reading →

It Was Like A Full Shift! HOURS With Strangers.

Wow, you guys. Just wow.

So, first, I want to touch a little on my previous post regarding my giveaway dinner, where I discussed the importance of doing things ahead. I was right, doing things ahead vastly smoothed out the process of sharing food and merriment with my guests. What I didn’t anticipate, and should have, was how much easier cooking ahead would simplify my cleanup process. It really did, you guys. And for that, I could not be more grateful.

You see, we spent a solid seven or eight hours with our guests. Seriously. We didn’t get to bed until well after 1:00 am, which means we left most of the clean-up for the next morning. All I did was pour some water into each of the glasses to keep them from being extra gross in the morning.… Continue reading →

You Know You Want It – Homebrew and Home-Cookin’. (Giveaway)

I have this growler of homebrew. It contains a porter, brewed for me by a good friend about a year ago. I have one or two 12 oz bottles of the porter left too, but the growler is what I need to focus on right now.

You see, a growler is a lot of beer. Far more than one person ought to drink in one sitting. (Or, at least, far more than your blogger ought to drink in one sitting.) And once it’s opened, it needs to be consumed. By the next day, the beer will often be flat and/or oxidized.

And I really need to get to consuming it. You see, it turns out homebrewers are relatively possessive about things like their growlers. Especially their gorgeous, special-handled, flip-top growlers.… Continue reading →